Café Classics Pesto Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta

UPC code: 1380017117

- and -

Production code (on gray strip on side of package) starts with 82805959
Best Before May 2010

Spa Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean

UPC code: 1380016612

- and -

Production code (on gray strip on side of package) starts with any of the following:

82315959
82415959
Best Before September 2010

82635959
82695959
82745959
Best Before October 2010

82915959
83015959
Best Before November 2010

Dinnertime Selects Chicken Tuscan

UPC code: 1380014890

- and -

Production code (on gray strip on side of package) starts with any of the following:

82345959
Best Before September 2009

82535959
82695959
Best Before October 2009

82925959
82965959
Best Before November 2009

If your product matches any of the above numbers, Lean Cuisine says to "return [it] to the place of purchase for a full refund."

The information above was taken from the Lean Cuisine info line at (800) 993-8625. (To get to the recall info, press 2, then press 1.)

"Nestle Recalls 900,000 Pounds of Lean Cuisine" [ABC News]
"Lean Cuisine recalls frozen chicken meals" [Los Angeles Times]

Recalled brands:

• Pedigree
• Ol' Roy
• Retriever
• Paws & Claws
• Member's Mark
• Natural Dog Food
• Natural Cat Food
• Doggy Bag
• PMI Nutrition
• Red Flannel
• PetPride
• Special Kitty
• Country Acres
• Wegman's Bruiser
• Wegman's Buju & Ziggie

To check whether the package you have is part of the recall, look at the code under the "Best Before" date.

For Pedigree brand food:

Consumers should look for “PAE” on the bottom line – the sixth, seventh and eighth digits. Sample:
Best Before 02/2009
808G1PAE01 12:00

For all other brands:

Consumers should look for “17” as the first two digits of the second line. Sample:
Best By Feb 18 09
17 1445 1

If you find a match, wrap up the product according to FDA guidelines and take it back to the store where you purchased it for a refund.

Mars Petcare September 2008 Recall Information (Thanks to Liz!)
(Photo: Getty)

The "What's Left" approach might be too vague for those of you who want details, details, details when it comes to your money. Instead of presenting you a dashboard of data, Rudder uses what our editor Ben called a "no-thought-required cash flow management" approach. Not that there's anything wrong with that, especially if you feel like you need to take control of your finances but don't know where to start.

Click here to see a sample Rudder email.

As Cnet puts it:

Rudder's name for this magic number is "what's left" and it figures out what you've got for discretionary spending based on when you're getting your next paycheck and what's in your various savings and checking accounts, compared to credit card payments and other bills that need paying off. The entire process is shown to users, something Roy hopes will educate as much as it does take the work out of doing the math yourself.

As far as security, Rudder asks for read-only access to your accounts through CashEdge; Rudder itself doesn't store any user names, passwords, or account numbers. It's free as in ad-supported—you can see an example of the sort of ads they serve in the sample email above.

Rudder.com
"Rudder steers personal finance to your in-box" [Cnet]

One reader, Meiran, put it this way: "I'm rather impressed by their reaction, it seems like most modern companies would attempt to push this under the rug and pretend it didn't happen, leaving customers to wonder what those strange charges on their statements are."

According to Wikipedia, the company is mostly owned by McDonald's and Coinstar, so it's not like this is an example of a start-up that's never encountered the heavy hand of corporate influence. This means Redbox's board of directors intentionally chose to be proactive on the matter. They seem to have figured out something that lots of other companies still struggle with, which is that if you empower your customers to help protect themselves, they'll help protect you, too. We wouldn't be surprised if the next time a skimmer is detected, the alert comes from a customer who remembers Redbox's email.

"Redbox Security Alert - Credit Card Skimmer Attempt" [redbox](Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

RELATED
"Redbox Warns Customers about Credit Card Skimming" [Hacking Netflix]

First, here's Emily's original email from two days ago:

I am sitting here in amazement after reading your post "HSBC Won't Tell You Someone in Bulgaria is Stealing $2,000 From You" because the exact same thing happened to me today, just substitute Pasadena and Canada for Bulgaria. I logged in to my personal internet banking this afternoon to review my account so that I could pay some bills. I noticed that my bank balance was about $3600 while my available balance was $300. There were no transactions listed after Friday, 2/15. I knew I had used my debit/atm card all weekend, all around Manhattan and Brooklyn. I called customer service and encountered, almost to a script, the same spiel as your reader from someone named "Dar". There was some sort of hold, but he couldn't get information about it. Eventually he found that there were two withdrawals of $500 each at a Wachovia bank that seemed suspicious. I confirmed that I had not made those withdrawals. He was not able to tell me what state the withdrawals were made in. I asked if the best thing to do would be to go to an HSBC ATM and take out the last $300 in my account, so that I wouldn't lose that too- he agreed. So, I left work early to get to the ATM. Dar advised that because today is a national holiday in the US, none of this information would process in my account until at least 6 am Tuesday, but that I would not be able to file a fraud report until WEDNESDAY! He had no answer for me when I asked why I hadn't been alerted to suspicious activity when my card had been used on opposite coasts and in ANOTHER COUNTRY all during the same weekend.

The ATM did not allow me to make any withdrawals. I tried various amounts from $300 down to $60 and each time got an error message that the "Amount Requested Exceeded the Limit". I called customer service again and this time was luckily connected to someone named Maria (and I hate to say this, but Maria, unlike Dar, sounded like a native English speaker). Maria went through various fraudulent transactions- $800 withdrawal in Pasadena, $500 twice in Canada, another $62 in Pasadena, as well as $1000 in Santa Monica. She was able to process a fraud report today- interesting, since Dar said that couldn't be done until Wednesday! My account will not be credited for 10-11 business days and I should receive a new card in 7-10 days. I also was able to immediately change my PIN. I was told that I would be able to withdraw the remaining amount from the branch tomorrow morning. (let's hope).

On Tuesday morning, I went to a local branch to get additional information and withdraw the remaining balance in my account. The associate at the local branch was helpful and contacted the fraud department on my behalf. Eventually I was provided with the name of the Fraud Investigator handling my case. I tried calling her several times on Tuesday afternoon, but kept getting voicemail. I left a voicemail around 5 pm. I attempted to call her again this morning. When I got voicemail, I dialed a random extension, to try to get to speak to a person (there is no operator). I did get someone in the Internet Banking department, who was kind enough to get me connected to someone in the fraud department (after both he and I waited on hold for about 30 minutes- no exaggeration). I was connected to someone named Ella _____, who said that she only dealt with Fraud in applications, so therefore she wouldn't be able to help me. As I tried to explain the situation, Ms. _____ was hostile toward me and escalated the tone of the conversation unneccesarily. I attempted to deescalate the conversation by explaining that I was quite upset that almost my entire bank account had been drained, that I was having a very hard time reaching someone who could help me and that her tone was not exactly helpful. She was then able to connect me to the Investigator handling my case, Sharon _____.

Ms. _____ was kind and helpful and explained that the extent of this fraud was essentially unprecedented for HSBC. She said that their fraud department was so overwhelmed, it was "still in the developing stage of how we're going to handle" it. I asked if she knew how many customers were affected and she stated "we don't even know." I asked if the magnitude of the fraud would delay the bank's ability to get everyone's account credited. She assured me that the bank's first priority was to credit every affected customer within 10 days. She explained that the bank was "probably" going to forego its usual requirements of paperwork such as fraud affidavits for affected customers, because the fraud here was obvious.

Ms. _____ stated that HSBC was trying to contact its customers and would be sending a letter regarding the fraud, but that it was so widespread that it didn't have the manpower to make a phone call to each affected customer, particularly where the focus was on trying to get the accounts credited. She advised that I monitor my account daily to check for the credit, because I would likely not receive notification from HSBC about it.

I'm appreciative of the information that I was able to receive today, and the reassurance that HSBC's priority was to get accounts credited as quickly as possible. However, I am dumbfounded that it took me three days to get the "full story" from HSBC, due to no lack of effort on my part. I think that the media needs to be alerted of this fraud, as HSBC is not able to contact all of its customers. People may be affected and not even know it yet. I obviously plan to change banks after this debacle, but do want to see that this is made public.

• 1. Fake foreclosure rescue — The most common foreclosure rescue scam entails approaching homeowners in default... with an offer to help them avoid foreclosure by negotiating with their lender. Some even offer to lend them the money needed to become current on the mortgage. The problem: They charge hefty upfront fees, do nothing in return and the property is foreclosed anyway.
• 2. Foreclosure rental scams — The scammers approach you with an offer to buy your house for the total amount you owe, plus a small amount of cash. You can then continue to rent the home, with the idea of buying it back later when your financial circumstances improve. The problem is, as soon as you sign over the deed to the house the new "owner" stops making the payments and collects your rent until the house is foreclosed.
• 3. Disaster-related schemes — Scams proliferate whenever and wherever a disaster hits. Residents in the affected zones should be particularly wary of offers for cheap home repair and clean-up. To protect yourself, be sure to check up on your contractor: They must be registered with the state's department of labor and carry liability insurance coverage.

  Even more treacherous are scammers who prey on people's goodwill, soliciting donations for charitable organizations that don't exist — or aren't really charitable. To make sure your money is going to the right place, check that your solicitor is from a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. A good place to verify that a nonprofit is legitimate is GuideStar.org.



• 4. Aggressive car warranty pitches — Senior citizens are often targeted by scammers and the extended car warranty scam is one of their latest tricks. It typically starts with the victim receiving a letter, postcard or prerecorded phone call informing them that their car warranty has expired and they have to purchase a new one. After an aggressive sales pitch, the victim agrees to buy an expensive extended warranty that they don't really need.


• 5. "Red Cross" military scams — How it works: Someone claiming to be with the American Red Cross calls a military spouse to inform her that her husband has been hurt while on duty in Iraq and has been transported to a hospital in Germany. To complete the necessary paperwork and proceed with treatment, the caller asks for verification of the husband's Social Security number and date of birth. The information is then used by identity thieves to obtain credit in the victim's name. In a statement issued earlier this year, the Red Cross said its representatives do not contact military members or dependents directly, but rather do that through a commander or first sergeant.

"Avoid Fraud" video [YouTube]
Official "Avoid Fraud" website [Freddie Mac]

RELATED
"Online video helps troubled borrowers spot fraud" [Reuters]

This is this writer's first ever scare-orrist post! I was starting to think that the era of crazy death warnings from The Enemy were behind us, and here I was with a blog platform to help spread the fear. But now my job here is done.

"FBI warns of possible shopping mall attacks" [Reuters]
"L.A. terrorist threat discounted" [Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

We guess you could forgive EBgames for being slow to update its inventory database—except the announcement was made a full week ago. Oh, and also, this is EBgames' core business.

Maybe taking pre-orders on publicly canceled videogames is part of their strategy to boost profits for this quarter—it's like getting lots of interest-free loans until some point in the future when they're forced to admit that they pre-sold you a product that the publisher has admitted will most likely never exist.

Oh, EBgames: we wish there was a cheat code to use against you.

official announcement [Perpetual Entertainment] (Thanks to Tuck!)

So courtesy of some MySpace idiot's blog, a juicy stream-of-conscious rant about AOL. Specifically, their text message weather alert system, which sent said MySpace ranter 125 messages predicting five minutes worth of rain over the course of the day.

so, when i got on mobile aim i signed up for some alerts...like amber alerts and weather alerts. i drive all night long and good to know these things...yeah iknow...why don't i just look out the window or listen to the radio...fuck i don't know...it was there so i wanted it....anyway....so today i received 125 test messages from aol telling me it was going to effin rain....and it only rained for five minutes during the time i got those messges...what the hell....okay...tell me once.. or twice whatever...but every 15 gosh damn minutes....bullshit...good thing i get a lot of them damn test messages...shit...

He means text messages, not test messages. And yes, we can see how that would be annoying. *Boop-de-doop!* You have one new message! AOL writes: "Hey! IT'S STILL RAINING."

the most traffic this guy will ever, ever get [Jeffery's MySpace Blog]

What's interesting too is that storesoho.com is down now but a duplicate site, sohostore.us has sprung up in its place.

Brian's letter contains some info that could be of interest to people trying to track down the site's owner. Hopefully Brian is sharing it with the police as well.

Brian writes:

Previously:
• Soho Store a Scam?
• UPDATE: Soho Store a Scam?
• UPDATE: Soho Store Long Known A Scam

The laptop contained his name, address, Social Security number and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Loan Account information.

The letter states that, "the computer had two layers of security, and [Wells Fargo has] no indication that the information has been accessed or misused." That part is underlined.

The computer was being shipped by a global express shipping company between Wells Fargo facilities. According to the letter, Law enforcement directed Wells Fargo to delay notifying all affected customers because they were concerned it would jeopardize their investigation. The missive goes on to detail and advise on various ways in which Lee could safeguard his data against identity theft.

Here's the letter Wells Fargo sent him. [PDF]

Seems like a lot of laptops containing customers personal data have gotten misplaced lately. Maybe now is about time to stop putting customers data on them. Whaddya say, boys?

After the jump, more evidence, along with a decaying lunch sack getting mad at us for questioning the integrity of a site whose address resolves to a self-storage facility in San Pedro, CA...

UPDATE: A reader went through and placed an order. You won't believe what he was asked to do at checkout.

Add that to the fact that their address resolves to a self-storage facility in San Pedro, CA (thanks Eric and Jay), their "About Us" page is a rip from the California Computer Center's info page (thanks Anthony), and the photos on the website are stolen from the official Apple Soho store website.

A reader appropriately named, "Chad," wrote in to call our site "an emaressment [sic] for posting articles like this." He says this is the standard wholesale rate for these units, especially merchants using "drop shipping," which is when an online retailer only handles the transactions and an uplink distributor takes care of the shipping, stocking and all that nitty griity. We googled "wholesale iPods" and failed to find any legitimate looking site offering the purported deals. If any reader can find a good site, we'd be overjoyed to post it.

Fair enough, but why then when we emailed the site's owner James did he respond, "The products on this sale are the stock of our charity partner and they were previously donated under their name. We are helping them to sell the stock out at this moment. All units are brand new, factory sealed."

Why then don't you just sell them on Ebay? We're sure you could make a much heftier profit for your charity partner.

Our critic wrote further, "You had no proof. Don't understand the industry. Can't even pick up a phone and call the guy. Yet you can make claims he is a scam and dare the users to prove you otherwise. Slow news day?"

You're right, we couldn't pick up a phone because no phone number was provided on the site. We never claimed it was a scam, we just pointed out the possibility, Chadwick, and said how it tickled our "spidey sense," our caveat emptor antenas. We "dared" people to prove us wrong because if this was actually a great deal on iPods, we'd love to let people know about it.

Scriptor emptor, let the writer beware of stupid readers.

UPDATE: Perhaps this is the kernel of the scam: stealing your bank account info. Daring reader Chuck writes, "I registered at the skeevy Soho Store as Derek Jeter and when I went to checkout I saw that the only acceptable form of payment for the transaction was "wire transfer." I've been alive 30 years and never had to do a wire transfer to buy something and you can be damn sure I wouldn't do it in this case either."

Previously: Soho Store a scam?

First and foremost, it's a little case of "too good to be true" syndrome Then there's the fact that there's no phone contact. Then there's the use of crappy stock photography to give it that legit corporate vibe that just doesn't ring true. Then there's the google page rank of 0. As well as the fact as there's no explanation given why, unless they fell off the back of a truck, the discounts on these high-end, high demand products would be so deep.

Of course, we could be totally off-base, but our spidey sense is going crazy. Someone please prove us wrong.

We dare you.

One group recently duplicated a bank's voicemail system and sent customers an email imploring them to call it. Those that did had their account info purloined.

What's more, is that the plastic phone tree was set up on a computer using VoIP to convert it into a PBX or Private Branch Exchange. Most likely, according to security analysts, the computers used were virus-infected allowing for remote control.

O'Donnell, a security expert at Cloudmark, said, "Through the economics of using VoIP, phishers reap the same benefits of any small business."

"Phishers snare victims with VoIP" [CMPnetAsia via MrConsumer]

"I followed your link for free Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Of the 16 New Jersey Scoop Shops listed on their web site, 8 are not participating. 14 of the 33 New York Scoop Shops are not participating. I'm guessing only the company-owned stores are participating. Maybe the franchisees can't afford to give away ice cream because of high credit card fees..."

So make sure to check the store locator to find out whether your local B&J scooper is in on the action or not.

Ben & Jerry's: Our cows are so liberal it's fascist!

Feed us. Feed the beast.

Spread the love like giant globs of white acrylic paint on a hot piece of toast.

Just drop a line to tips@consumerist.com.

We listen attentively.

We are having trouble with the comment system, as many of you know and have pointed out.

If you get a message like, "Comment error, we were not able to post your message at this time..." please try logging out and logging back in. That may fix it. If that doesn't work, forward your comment to the tipline and we can post it for you. The third option is to simply wait.

Also, if you received a comments login invite yesterday, it may not work.

Our techs are in the trenches right now actively working to resolve this issue. Sorry for the delay and hassle.

Just another day in blogoland.

UPDATE: Allegedly, comments are working now. Give it a shot, let us know.

What does this mean besides the director's cut version of Ben & Chris go to IKEA?

Well, we'd like to see your videos, your prying eyes made flesh. Got a soup nazi in your town? An irrational customer service rep on speakerphone? A video rant? Bank employee picking their nose/butt? Send it to us and we may YouTube it. Don't worry about it looking professional or nothing

In return you get credit and link love, the gift that keeps on giving.

And even prosecuting you for the ones you didn't commit. "Sleazy New Debt-collector Tactics" [MSN Money]

Some of them will sucker you in with low monthly payments, even though the statute of limitations has expired. Making these payments only reactivates the debt as current and then they've got you by the gills.

Read the articles for the scoop and how to fight back with more subtle and effective tactics than fire or head chopping. (Thanks to Sara!)

Our grand winner is Mike Focosi with Oprahsuaded: To persuade someone, most likely a woman, into believing, buying, eating, reading or doing something that Oprah says is good. "You bought the latest Oprah's Book Club book? You are so oprahsuaded."

Mike wins The Consumerist Science Award certificate, previously only given to the Halliburton's board of directors.

Congrats! One thing Mike did to secure his win over Jihadvertising was blog about his entry. Then his blogging friends picked up on it and encouraged others to vote.

All's fair in love and blogging.

Previously:

• Contest: Make up a Word, Win Big Like Halliburton
  
• Contest: Neologify Your Consumerisms
  
• Contest: Make up a Word, Win Big Like Halliburton

Please also note the fortuitous picture of the black man with the large death-stick standing behind the white man. You can bet dimes to doughnuts that the white man's death stick is much, much smaller.

Snapped from a New York City subway poster prior to meeting up with team Gawker for a late night of bowling with a pile of other media whores.

Google, "office retailer security breach."

If you've used a debit card at OfficeMax:

1) Change your PIN code right now.
2) Don't shop there ever again.

If you don't shop at OfficeMax but have a debit card:

1) Change your PIN code right now.
2) Don't swipe and punch in your PIN at the shops. Ask to sign a receipt.

The fastest way to change your PIN is to visit your bank and ask them to change it. You can also call them and ask for a mailer, but that's not a very speedy process.

These thieves walked away with hundreds of thousands of accounts. Just because they might have been stopped in the OfficeMax case (which probably hasn't happened otherwise it would've been announced!), what's to stop them from striking again?

Especially since they were so successful this time.

It sucks!

Our techs know all about it (except how to immediately fix it) and things should be more reasonable tomorrow but probably won't drastically improve until the arrival of two new servers next week.

Until then, hold tight!

If you're sick of hitting refresh and not seeing any new content, may we suggest that now is the time to switch to an RSS reader?

Thieves are stealing debit card information from third-party retailer's sloppy systems and siphoning money off vulnerable accounts.

PIN codes are supposed to prevent such an attack, but the sheer number of compromised cards indicates the thieves snagged PIN codes as well. These PINs, which are supposed to be destroyed or disposed of after a transaction, can end up accidentally stored in temporary files or other nooks and crannies in poorly designed merchant software systems.

There's tons of PIN terminals around the world and their oversight and maintenance is left to the individual merchant's discretion.

If you're concerned, until much more robust standards are demanded and implemented, choose getting hassled over getting hacked. Avoid PIN transactions and opt to sign a receipt instead.

Or, as David wrote in to remind us, do what they've been telling you to do all along: change your PIN frequently. Pick something memorable without it being your birthday or something silly that could easily be found by stealing your wallet. Something like, "I've got 3 front windows, 1 car, 2 cats and 0 aliens."

Or pay in cold, hard, cash. Cash on the barrel head. Like your grandpappy did, you sissy.

Wave of ATM Fraud Indicates Criminals Upped the Ante [MSNBC] (Thanks to Melsky!)

Previously: Massive Citibank Alert: UPDATE